Westshore Plaza: Tampa, FL

Florida's retail graveyard is littered with its early malls. Typical built in the 60's and usually only on one level, the cheap, easy to build on land made it difficult for the early malls to compete when so many newer, larger ones sprung up so close by. Tampa's Westshore Plaza was also built in the 60's, 1967 to be exact, and also has a huge, elegant mall nearby. Reason says it should be dead. In fact, the mall is not only not dead but is still thriving as an upscale mall on its own. As Tampa's very first mall, it is a true survivor although millions in expansions have made it much larger than the simple mall it was when it opened. It is also a beautiful mall, capturing the Florida experience in a retail center that is now 45 years old.

While only one one level, Westshore Plaza was a smashing success from the start. The mall, however, started out more humble as a simple two-anchor mall with 38 tenants anchored on the north end by Maas Brothers and the south end by JCPenney. However, Maas Brothers was also Tampa's leading department store and JCPenney also an obvious popular choice, so the mall had no trouble drawing a crowd. Pinellas County across Tampa Bay had already joined the mall race then as well with DeSoto Square leading the pack, but competition was far enough away not to affect the center. Still, the mall would face significant competition as the years went on, and the owners never took that threat lightly.

The first photo shows the mall along the oldest part of the mall with high windows and high ceilings, which have been decorated to feel like a Spanish courtyard. This is one of the best ideas I have ever seen to take a dated feature common in late 60's malls to make them look contemporary. The photo above and the two below are of the center court, which forms a small tower. It is an awesome feature that is one of the most interesting center court ideas I have seen although the "center" of this mall is not actually part of the mall corridor. All photos here are by id780.

Center court features a faux skylight supported by a pole made to look like a palm tree. Surrounding are arched windows that pay ode to the Spanish colonial roots of the state. Photo by id780.

In the first photo, you see an arched entry in the distance, which is the same center court pictured in the above two photos. Photo by id780.

This view from the parking deck shows the center court from above as well as the positioning of the high windows and overhead skylights. The open wall to the left is JCPenney and the store in the background is Macy's, originally Maas Brothers. Photo by id780.

More detail along the older part of the mall including a couple storefronts. Photo by id780.

The simple two-anchor I-shaped mall changed fairly quickly after the mall opened. By June 1972, plans were announced to expand the mall. The expansion would add, according to the Evening Independent, 20-25 tenants, a three level parking garage (now the north parking deck) and at the east end a Robinson's of Florida department store. Robinson's was a chain based out of California, but was expanding to Florida with a separate division. Stores were primarily in the Tampa Bay market at the time. The entire expansion opened in 1974, and it would certainly not be the last. Obviously, with a mall that started out as small as this one did, action was necessary to keep it from having the fate of Floriland Mall further northeast.

One of the mall entrances along the old part of the mall. Note the original stoneworking on the left that is part of JCPenney. Photo by id780

While I might praise this mall's overhead design, the floor features leave a lot to be desired. No planters, mostly plain flooring and this pitiful excuse for a fountain. I would love to know what kinds of fountains were in the mall originally. I think that with this mall being Spanish-themed, some Spanish looking fountains would suffice as well. Photo by id780

Saks Fifth Avenue's mall entrance. This is quite subdued compared to the Saks Fifth Avenue's mall entrance in Atlanta. Outside, the store is basically identical to the Saks Fifth Avenue at The Summit at Mountain Brook in Birmingham. Photo by id780.

It was a good thing that Westshore expanded when it did, because only a couple years later its first major competition arrived on the scene: Tampa Bay Center. Tampa Bay Center was an elegant Rouse Company mall featuring far more natural lighting, two levels, a more contemporary design and both a Sears and Burdine's as anchors. Fortunately, this new mall would prove more as a complement to Westshore than direct threat. Montgomery Ward would later join the mall proving that for at least the time being the competition was a bit more friendly. This would not always be the case, but Westshore was not the one that needed to be worried.

Detail of one of the later-installed overhead skylights. Photo by id780

A couple views of the food court. It definitely looks like a dark, depressing afterthought. I think food courts should be inviting to be competitive with the cheaper options on the street. Atmosphere definitely helps, so maybe they should have included the food court on the second level as well. Photos by id780

It is not really known if any remodeling was done on Westshore between 1974 and the late 1990's, but it is assumed that there was probably a late 1980's remodel. All that is known in that time span was the shaking up of anchor tenants. The first came in 1987 when Robinson's of Florida sold all of their stores to Maison Blanche of New Orleans, LA. A short time later in 1991, Maison Blanche turned around and sold the stores again, this time to Dillard's. The sale created Dillard's second major expansion into the Florida market following the purchase of Ivey's of Charlotte, NC a year before. That very same year, the dust was also settling from a very volatile period for Allied Stores, which were merged and drained of resources from the Campeau takeover. Maas Brothers, once the largest regional store in the market, was combined into Burdine's. This meant that Tampa Bay Center and Westshore Plaza suddenly both had Burdine's locations in very close proximity. Amazingly, the two stores would co-exist until 1999 when Burdine's closed at Tampa Bay Center. However, that Burdine's was closed not to consolidate with Westshore but to move to the new Citrus Park Town Center that had just opened.

How do you handle adding a 14 screen theater to a mall on a very small footprint? Stack it on top. The fact that a mall that once had only 38 inline stores has morphed to over 1,000,000 square feet on a very small footprint is impressive. Photo by id780.

JCPenney is visible in the distance. While the rest of the mall has been altered to the point where it bears no resemblance to the original mall, JCPenney has been here ever since 1967 with the only change being a switch from the "Penney's" to JCPenney logo. Photo by id780.

Obviously JCPenney's mall entrance facade has been updated, too. Photo by id780.

In 1998, Westshore Plaza moved from the realm of mid-market mall to upscale mall when they scored the exclusive Saks Fifth Avenue department store. Tacked onto the west side of the mall on what appeared to be a mall entrance wing previously, this established Westshore Plaza as a truly upscale mall far from its origins as a small, basic mid-market mall. This was a wise move, because it was around this same time that it was announced that Westshore Plaza would have its hardest test yet. A mega mall was planned less than five miles away known as International Plaza and Bay Street. This mall would feature upscale stores and a hotel including three anchors with room for more. With a threat like this, it seemed that older, smaller Westshore Plaza would struggle. This was not the case for the invincible Westshore boasting its perfect location right next to I-275.

Here is the beginning of the 1974 wing that originally ended in Robinson's (now Sears) where the mall transitions from a former mall entryway in the old part to the newer part. This is close to Macy's. Photo by id780.

Along the 1974 wing in the transitional area. Photo by id780.

Once free of the constraints of the original mall structure, the Robinson's/Sears wing opens up a bit, but lacks the high ceilings of the original mall, only overhead skylights. Photo by id780

While this photo does not show much detail, the Sears mall entrance is visible enough to show it has been modified quite a bit since this was Robinson's. Photo by id780.

Westshore did not take the news of the new mall without a fight. They aggressively expanded taking the L-shaped mall and reworking it into a square completing the expansion in November 2000. The new wing tied the JCPenney wing of the mall to the Dillard's wing adding a food court and a new 14 screen, stadium seating AMC theater on a second level above the new wing. Westshore Plaza did, however, lose one anchor to International Plaza. Dillard's, which had anchored the mall for a decade, still left for the new mall. The mall, however, had no trouble filling that spot as Sears was looking to leave failing Tampa Bay Center, quickly snapped up the empty anchor. This change has resulted in four total anchors filling the building that originally housed Robinson's. Also, you can add as a side note that Burdine's, which was originally Maas Brothers, became Macy's in 2005. Are you confused?

This mall directory deserves significant explaining. The corridor between JCPenney and Macy's is the original 1967 mall with Maas Brothers and later Burdine's filling the current Macy's space. Saks Fifth Avenue was tacked onto the west side of the original mall in 1998. The east-west corridor from Macy's to Sears opened in 1974 with Sears previously occupied, respectively, by Robinson's of Florida, Maison Blanche and Dillard's. The southeast corner was added in 2000, including the food court. This portion of the mall has no natural light, because the theaters was built over the top of that portion. The North Parkade was also added in 1974 with the other two parking decks added in the 2000's. Photo by id780.

Not having a direct photo of this mall entrance is more disappointing since this was one of the original two anchors: Maas Brothers. Macy's has been here since 2005 although the store operated as Burdine's-Macy's from 2003-2005 (with no external sign changes). Photo by id780.

At least we got a peek into what was once Maas Brothers. A photo of Maas Brothers exterior was also posted on Wikipedia from 1991. Google Street View also has a modern view. Unfortunately, I do not have an updated image of this of my own since these were not my photos. Photo by id780.

A couple more shots of the newer part of the mall extending from near Sears to near JCPenney. Photos by id780.

Westshore Plaza is very similar to another mall covered in this blog, Oglethorpe Mall in Savannah, in several ways. First, the mall very aggressively expanded to fend off competition resulting in it morphing from a standard suburban mall into a premier mall. Second, both malls had Maas Brothers at anchors at different points in their history. In addition, both have not only survived but transformed simple 60's malls into beautiful, thriving malls. Both have also done numerous expansions and still continue to do so despite being on small footprints that make such expansion difficult. Westshore now has three parking decks and even then found the room to squeeze in five nice restaurants including Seasons 82. The mall also received yet another remodel in 2002.

The photographer took substantial photos of storefronts, but this one stood out because for some reason they included the city name on it. Is this the only New Balance store in Tampa?

Old Navy, which sometimes functions as a full junior anchor, holds a place in the mall. It is located near the food court. Photo by id780.

One of the original mall entryways near JCPenney. Why did 60's malls have these LONG corridors coming in like this? Also, note what's on the right, which is also in the next photo.

While they did a swanky job covering this up, this is very spooky. Clearly a store used to have outside access to this mall entry corridor, but has been permanently closed. I wish I knew exactly what was on the other side.

Another way that Westshore Mall is impressive (and similar to Oglethorpe) is how the mall has a very distinctive appearance and theme appropriate to the area. It is not known which renovation did this, but the mall was upgraded from a conventional 60's mall look to a very elaborate Spanish Colonial look with wrought iron, elegant light fixtures, shutters on the high windows (and additional windows with panes) and detailed ceiling treatments with a tasteful mix of aqua blue, tan and brown. While each addition is not exactly the same in design (the high ceilings are only found in the original mall), the improvements made to the oldest part of the mall were exceptional. Best of all is the center court, which features a tower similar to what you would find in a Spanish courtyard. It is truly one of the prettiest remodels I have seen, and one of the reasons I wanted to feature this mall over many others in the area. It is, after all, the way an upscale mall should look: distinctive and elegant. While I am certain this theme could have been made even more elaborate had this mall been open-air, I believe that the way this mall looks is one big reason that this mall has survived competition from many malls that are within a short driving distance.

The anchor likely to carry five names sits in the background behind the restaurant addition to Westshore Plaza. This view is from the South Parkade parking deck. Photo by id780.

AMC 14 Cinemas is visible with the mall hidden underneath from this vantage point. Photo by id780.

JCPenney has a curious (and rather ugly) design that has open-faced walls along a portion of the store. Apparently the building was originally designed to house three levels, but the third level did not cover the entire footprint. Considering the danger of collapse from hurricanes, apparently this wall was opened up (or maybe it was always this way?)

JCPenney built some extraordinarily strange, but distinctive stores in the 60's, but this is one of the least attractive I've ever seen. I wonder if it looked any better originally when the Penney's logo graced the front? Note the fake stone facade at the base. Photo by id780.

Saks Fifth Avenue boasts a simple, plain design that looks stately but boring. I do think, though, that this anchor being here is very important, because it is a major factor in how International Plaza did not destroy this mall in 2001. Photo by id780.

It will be interesting to see how things progress in the future with Westshore Plaza. It is clear that its popularity and expensive, frequent modifications have made it the oldest and probably the most successful mall in all of Tampa. International Plaza obviously feels the heat as they have never filled their empty anchor pads, which were undoubtedly intended for any anchors they could steal from Westshore. It will be curious to see if the inevitable failure of Sears results in Dillard's wanting to return to the store they originally snapped up 20 years ago. At International Plaza, it is the odd man out sitting between Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus. Meanwhile, the party has never stopped at Westshore Plaza. Let us hope that party continues into their 50th anniversary!

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University Square Mall: Tampa, FL

The area of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater has not only been an area of phenomenal growth over the past several decades, but also phenomenal sprawl. University Mall, originally University Square Mall, is one of those malls that led the charge of Tampa sprawl located between I-75 and I-275 northeast of the city.  As a second generation mall in the region and the second in the city, the mall is not what it once was, but it is still hanging on for now.  It has also had a long life with a very dynamic anchor history originally opening over 36 years ago opening on August 15, 1974.  As an additional note, this is my third mall I have covered named University Mall and second in Florida, and I've only covered two malls in Florida so far.

University Mall is named as such for its proximity to University of South Florida.  It is also located near the Busch Gardens theme park.  The DeBartolo-built mall started out small with only one level anchored by Tampa-based Maas Brothers on the south end with Robinson's of Florida on the original north end.  Robinson's of Florida was actually a division of the same J.W. Robinson's in California, and the company hoped to tap the booming east coast market as well.  JCPenney also was slated to open with the mall, but arrived fashionably late in October of 1974, making up the west anchor of the mall.  The new and successful mall was definitely bringing growth to the area, so the growth did not stop there with Sears rounding off the mall in 1975 as the east anchor.  Lastly, Burdine's would join the mall in 1983 in an awkward pad between Sears and Robinson's where Burlington Coat Factory is today.  With five anchors, the mall was a powerhouse, and it dominated the north side of Tampa all throughout the 80's and 90's.

While the first photo shows an elegant view from the second floor addition, you can see the rest of the mall is incredibly bland.  I am sure when the original mall was in place, this was much more appealing with in-floor fountains, dark tiles and and other items, but now it's just a plain white hallway with the usual kiosks.  It looks dated, and not in a good way.  I also want to note that ALL photos here are submitted to me from id780.

Traffic...what this mall wants more of with 1 1/2 empty anchors (id780)

Detail of the peculiar skylights with a 90's whitewashed twist (id780).

Florida's volatile retail market meant that the mall would see many significant anchor changes over the years.  With University Square, these would not just be anchor changes but would actually lead to an interesting expansion.  The first of those changes came in 1988 when Robinson's was sold to New Orleans-based Maison Blanche.  While this made little impact on the mall, fireworks would soon erupt in 1991.  First, Maison Blanche sold the University Square store as well as seven other Florida locations to Dillard's.  This was accompanied by the shake-up in the industry that also featured the merger of Maas Brothers, which had merged with Jordan Marsh prior, into Burdine's.  Burdine's, previously stuck in a less than ideal anchor pad, seized the opportunity and moved their store into the former Maas Brothers.  Montgomery Ward then joined the mall, taking over the former Burdine's space.  Perhaps the arrival of Wards put a curse on the mall.

Here, we have center court of the mall and the escalators to the second level.  I cannot deny that is pretty cool (id780).

The wood trim next to the escalators looks a little cheap (id780).

Here is a view from the second level looking back towards Macy's, formerly Maas Brothers and Burdine's (id780).

Looking back down the escalators, which apparently approach the upper level from two angles off the center court (id780).

The biggest changes to the mall itself came in 1995 when Dillard's, then still new to the market, constructed a brand new store connected to the existing store, which had previously housed Maison Blanche and Robinson's.  When completed, the original store was converted to mall space, creating a two-level wing to an otherwise one-story mall.  This was likely done to compete with the new Brandon Town Center, which opened in 1995, and the addition to the mall was completed in 1996.  This unique change to the mall's footprint was also tried in one other mall in Florida, Tallahassee Mall.   Everything was going well for the mall, but the next decade would prove that the mall was losing ground, but it was still holding up far better than its sister mall Eastlake Square, which closed in 1998.

Here are a few more views of the vaulted area in the main court adjoining the two level part.  I wonder how this used to look (id780).

Here is the lower level of the two-level portion heading to Dillard's.  This originally would have had the mall entrance to Robinson's of Florida and Maison Blanche directly in view (id780).

Prior to Brandon Town Center, Tampa had only five malls, and all but one were originally very successful.  The others were Westshore Plaza, Floriland Mall, Eastlake Square and Tampa Bay Center.  The problem was, two more malls would soon arrive to negatively affect the five original malls with Floriland, Eastlake Square and Tampa Bay Center losing the battle completely.  The new malls, Citrus Park Town Center and International Plaza (and Bay Street) were very formidable foes.  As an older, smaller mall in an older side of town, University Mall was then forced to compete with not only Brandon Town Center, but also the newer Citrus Park Mall.  While the distance was still enough that University Mall held its own, the neighborhood around it began to decline and the strain was beginning to show.  The first was when Montgomery Ward closed in 2001.  Instead of a conventional department store taking the spot, the anchor which originally housed Burdine's was filled with Burlington Coat Factory.  JCPenney was the next to leave, leaving the mall in 2005 for a free-standing prototype store in Wesley Chapel that would eventually become The Shops at Wiregrass, a new lifestyle center that would prove the toughest blow for the aging mall. 

Here is a well-centered shot of the east wing of the mall.  Move along... (id780)

A few shots were provided of the theater, but I've only posted one here.  If interested, I will add more of this very 90's theater (id780).

This is one shot of the food court, which is situated on the upper level keeping it alive.  I don't think I've heard of the restaurant here but this does make a tamale sound awfully good (id780).

Here, this is looking from the second level food court down on the first level (id780).

Now, with several newer, bigger malls in the region and a lifestyle center in a newer area, it was becoming obvious that University Mall was in a tight spot.  Dillard's would open a store in 2008 at Wiregrass, resulting in the store in the mall being downgraded to a clearance store.  JCPenney had already left, and Macy's also opened a store at the new center though they are so far maintaining stores at both locations.  The former JCPenney did find new life as Steve & Barry's University Sportswear (appropriate for a college-named mall) but the store closed with the chain in 2009.  K&G Menswear has also since come along as a junior anchor next to Sears.  While this looks troublesome, University Mall is still not a dead mall, and its current owners since 2007 Somera Capital Management/Rockwood Capital have plans to revitalize the mall partly through a demolition of the former JCPenney/Steve & Barry's site for new shops.

More of the food court.  Why did I have to be hungry when I posted this? (id780)

A view of the second level food court.  I like this part of the mall, which is a bit more elegant (id780).

From the food court onto Dillard's, things move downhill fast.  Pretty much everything is dead from there to the mall entrance, and Dillard's also abandoned the upper level as well.  Dillard's does not help at all considering their clearance stores have reduced hours (id780).

The most fascinating thing about this view looking toward Dillard's is that this was the center of a department store up to 1995.  I think there are few things more cool than converting old department stores into mall space, especially if the addition is a level higher than the rest of the mall. (id780)

The two-level wing of the mall brought some needed traffic to the mall at first.  It brought the mall a new theater and a new food court, which both have helped the mall stand out.  Also, both were wisely added to the upper level as well so that the space was not entirely dependent on traffic that might be bound for Dillard's.  The problem with the upper level wing, however, is it still is hurting from the closure of Dillard's own upper level.  Such additions are very dependent on the anchor, which means that hybrid designs like this must remain healthy.  Malls with third levels often get stuck with dead space, and this upper level portion clearly has a disconnect with the rest of the mall meaning a better anchor is badly needed in that location.

Here are a couple more views of the upper level, which does have a couple shops remaining past the food court.  Luckily food courts are not anchor driven, they are hunger driven. (id780)

Dark Dillard's is here to remind you that if you're looking for the final dibs on their most unwanted apparel you need to mozy on back to the escalators in center court.  Dillard's needs to change that slogan there to "Second Floor: The Style of No Life". (id780)

It is obvious at this point that University Mall is at a crossroads.  As the mall approaches 40 years old, changes will need to be made to keep the mall viable.  Those plans should most definitely include making the mall have fewer anchors, since clearly five anchors are way more than the mall needs.  Swapping the Macy's and Dillard's Clearance Stores would definitely help, since Dillard's is now only using the lower level.  The upper level wing is mostly emptying out because of this.  If the economy looks up in Florida, I can see this mall surviving but I do not see Dillard's maintaining a location in the mall for a long time as a clearance store. Maybe if the stores switched places, another anchor might be interested in the current store  Also, the most practical move to me is for them to demolish not just the JCPenney, but the entire wing extending from center court to where JCPenney was, converting it to outdoor shops and restaurants.  To keep the mall viable, each time an anchor closes, the wing of the mall attached to it should be demolished and likewise converted to outdoor shops, though I would also advocate attempting to lure big box anchors to fill the void before doing that.  I also believe that after the anchor switch that if Dillard's closes their store that Burlington Coat Factory should move into that space with the existing store demolished.  Eventually, if all of the anchors close, then the rest of the mall should be replaced with an open-air shopping center with an elegant central area featuring a roundabout, a small park and shops, but only if the mall loses all of its anchors.  Hopefully, this will not happen, but it is clear the mall needs to improve.  In addition, the mall is rather bland inside and needs a showy renovation.  How can a mall that looks like 1991 in a bad way compete with the newer malls?

Since the second level is also accessible via a parking deck, there is at least access to it other than the center court. (id780)

Macy's here looks so spooky after closing time.  I bet this store looked so much cooler with the Maas Brother's logo.  Since I did not take these photos, I have no other anchor photos available to me. (id780)

This contemporary mall entrance is pretty mod.  I wish the inside was as full of cutting edge design.  Maybe it will be soon. (id780)

This older mall entrance reminds me of the more distinctive classic "Florida Modern" look, and I like it. (id780)

Whatever they decide to do or are able to do, University Mall had 30 successful years.  For now, the mall is still holding onto enough anchors to stay successful, but unfortunately the mall must look at the possibility of gradually de-malling if that success is to remain over the years ahead.  It has both factors making the mall sick: newer, bigger options stealing its market area and a neighborhood that is less prosperous than its peak years.  Perhaps the neighborhood will continue to support it, though, but the current owners also need to do more to fix it up.